Naturals: Embrace the Taco Meat? Or Get a Lining?

[LiberianGirl]

too much hair type paranoia going around

I agree, God forbid someone give a Type 3 a compliment.erplexed People's insecurities are really showing.

 

[Soliel185]

Most days I just finger curl my nape. It forms little coils.

If don't want the curls poking out, and either smooth them up with a brush and use a clip, or a do one thin flat twist from one side of my neck to the other, then tuck the end and bobby pin. I like this option b/c it protects the hair, it's less tension on my scalp, and it doesn't interfere with any other style I'm wearing.

I used to get lined b/c the first time I got my hair braided they did it, so I just kept it up. I finally let it grow out last year and I'm glad I did. It looks better to me, and as long as my nape is moisturized and soft like the rest of my head I really don't care about what anybody else has to say.

 

[Chaosbutterfly]

Mwedzi's nape looks looser than the rest of her 4b hair and she was complimented for that (it looking soft like baby hair, not it looking like dry buckshots)

Nonie was complimented for her ability to hide her texture by brushing it up to blend with the rest of her hair.

I didn't look back for BlackMasterPeice's

No one said mine was cute (don't worry, not fishing) lol.

It's the same thing that normally goes on with compliments on this board. A 3-something will get complimented on the cuteness of her hair texture or curl pattern, while a 4-something will get complimented on length and style....

I really do think that people are looking for a problem where there isn't one. I don't think it has anything to do with type. The ladies who were complimented on their kitchens have cute kitchens. Their kitchens grow in evenly, have naturally pleasing shapes, looks soft and moist, and can be included into their hairdos without it looking crazy. All of those things have nothing to do with their hair type, it's just one of those inherent differences between heads of hair.

As far as I can see, no one is complimenting anyone on masking their texture. You can look at Mwedzi, Nonie and BMP's hair and see that they are 4's, even at their napes. No amount of brushing or gelling can hide that. They were complimented because they have smooth and well shaped kitchens. Dry buckshots is not synonymous with Type 4 hair.Type 3 people can have dry buckshots too, that's more about how well you tend to your kitchen, not how it comes out of you head. If you keep your kitchen moist and soft, then it'll look and feel better.

I swear, some people just WANT to be offended, trying to :hardslap: someone at the slightest thing.

 

[jwhitley6]

Thing is that natural hair is kinky, coily, curly all over so the nape hair does blend with the rest. Now is you were going for a precision short cut like a twa Caesar or a bob with a tapered nape then you might get an edge up if you were so inclined. But for just regular braid, bun, twists or puffs to me its just the part of your hair that hangs a bit. It shouldn't be an "offense" to the eye or something that needs fixing IMO. I always thought of "kitchen woes" as the lament of folks wearing straight hair/ or relaxed hair who are worried about hairs that don't appear straight.

Not mine! My nape is baby-hair fine but coiled twice as tight as the rest. It doesn't blend well. My issue is not so much my kinky hair but that the nape doesn't act like the rest of my head.

 

[Filmatic]

Naw I line. I don't like my hair growing down my neck. And it can get down there. To each their own though.

 

[wild curls raquelle]

embrace it or what I do is get some butter (shea, mango etc) rub in my hands and apply to smooth it out.

 

[MA2010]

Missalyssa your nape looks great!

Moisture is my biggest concern for my kitchen (love saying kitchen)/ nape.

For some reason my nape tends to stay dry and knotted if I don't pay extra special attention to it, all the time. I like my 4b nape to look and feel moisturized. The only grooming issue I and DH (lol) have is when it is not (pic below).

The same night after a wash and DC...... More moisture makes a huge difference in appearance.

 

[PearlyCurly]

I really do think that people are looking for a problem where there isn't one. I don't think it has anything to do with type. The ladies who were complimented on their kitchens have cute kitchens. Their kitchens grow in evenly, have naturally pleasing shapes, looks soft and moist, and can be included into their hairdos without it looking crazy. All of those things have nothing to do with their hair type, it's just one of those inherent differences between heads of hair.

As far as I can see, no one is complimenting anyone on masking their texture. You can look at Mwedzi, Nonie and BMP's hair and see that they are 4's, even at their napes. No amount of brushing or gelling can hide that. They were complimented because they have smooth and well shaped kitchens. Dry buckshots is not synonymous with Type 4 hair.Type 3 people can have dry buckshots too, that's more about how well you tend to your kitchen, not how it comes out of you head. If you keep your kitchen moist and soft, then it'll look and feel better.

I swear, some people just WANT to be offended, trying to :hardslap: someone at the slightest thing.

I agree!

I've never heard the term "taco meat" until i came on this forum and i still think its cute!But i also never seen so many women get so upset over words then on this forum! Its like you have to tip-toe around here!

I didnt see the OP stating anything about changing our texture or hating our texture! So whats the big deal?? Why are you ladies getting your coils in such knots?!?!
Is it because you didnt get any compliments? Who cares, i didnt get any(well i didnt post pics), and i also didnt get my sedu flat iron yet.. life isnt fair.

 

[SelahOco]

I agree!

I've never heard the term "taco meat" until i came on this forum and i still think its cute!But i also never seen so many women get so upset over words then on this forum! Its like you have to tip-toe around here!

I didnt see the OP stating anything about changing our texture or hating our texture! So whats the big deal?? Why are you ladies getting your coils in such knots?!?!
Is it because you didnt get any compliments? Who cares, i didnt get any(well i didnt post pics), and i also didnt get my sedu flat iron yet.. life isnt fair.

 

[kblc06]

Your nape looks almost identical to mine (same texture and grows in an M shape). Except that the rest of of my hair near the nape is in the 3b/c range. I get massive tangling in this area and it doesn't stay moisturized-I've tried shea butter, glycerin (which the rest of my hair is sensitive to), coconut oil, you name it .

Missalyssa your nape looks great!

Moisture is my biggest concern for my kitchen (love saying kitchen)/ nape.

For some reason my nape tends to stay dry and knotted if I don't pay extra special attention to it, all the time. I like my 4b nape to look and feel moisturized. The only grooming issue I and DH (lol) have is when it is not (pic below).

 

[Jazzmommy]

My husband lines me up in the back. My hair comes down pretty low. I have also tried blowdrying them a bit and adding oil to keep them tamed when I wear my hair in a bun.

 

[MA2010]

Your nape looks almost identical to mine (same texture and grows in an M shape). Except that the rest of of my hair near the nape is in the 3b/c range. I get massive tangling in this area and it doesn't stay moisturized-I've tried shea butter, glycerin (which the rest of my hair is sensitive to), coconut oil, you name it .

Tell me about it girl. My nape is unruly when it come to keeping moisture in. After a good wash and DC it is lovely to touch and comb. I have to find a way to retain moisture back there.

 

[AfroKink]

Mwedzi's nape looks looser than the rest of her 4b hair and she was complimented for that (it looking soft like baby hair, not it looking like dry buckshots)

Nonie was complimented for her ability to hide her texture by brushing it up to blend with the rest of her hair.

I didn't look back for BlackMasterPeice's

No one said mine was cute (don't worry, not fishing) lol.

It's the same thing that normally goes on with compliments on this board. A 3-something will get complimented on the cuteness of her hair texture or curl pattern, while a 4-something will get complimented on length and style....

This seems to be my post that is getting to some people. I probably could have chosen my words better, but I stand by what I said. Mwedzi was complimented for having soft looking nape hair (and a straight line) and Nonie was complimented for her ability to blend. Now having a better understanding of SelahOco's desires, this is exactly what she's looking for.

It isn't the title that is offensive or I wouldn't have come in. (Actually thought it was a jab at the ladies on the board who do believe coily nape hair and 4b hair in general is taco meat. What happened to that Jay-z thread?)

I don't believe the OP was trying to offend anyone. It's not even a discussion of the terms used that I'm interested.

Why do I, a woman with 4b hair, need to constantly change something about my head top? The more I frequent this board the more I realize that people are fighting hard to not have the hair that I have.

Here is my vampire taco meat deluxe:

lys

Here I was telling SelahOco that I don't find what she said to be offensive and I showed pics to let her know that 'yes' I know what she's going through.

I love your post! You make a valid point.

Now, for me the only difference between the back of your neck and some of the other 4 type women who posted is how far down your hair grows. everything else looks the same.

So, since we look at the front of our hair everyday, people use gel or scarves or otherwise groom the hair in the front just to make it neat. It's like no big deal to most people...just brush it down.

But when people look at their hair in the back, it's usually not as neat because you can't see it. Do you grab the mirror and fix, fix fix until it's as cute as the front. But if you wear an updo, and your hair grows more freely down your neck - it seems natural to want to groom it IF that's your tendency.

Like leg hair, lip hair, chin whiskers, Ashanti's side burns, eyebrow hair, etc. Maybe it is an issue of not accepting the hair type, but maybe it's just about grooming.

You make valid points too. I don't get down with gelling or scarfing my edges either. And I have a widows peak, mini side burns that you can see peaking below my glasses and a peak of hair on each of my temples. I leave it all alone. As you can see here:

hmmm... never noticed how hairy I am

And then we talked about the possibility that it has more to do with grooming style than texture.

(SelahOco, it was me that said I never noticed how hairy I am, lol)

wow... You guys make the hair game necessarily hard, especially for the 4b girls. You can even see from this thread that ladies with 3-something hair get the "you're nape is cute" comments while the 4-somethings have vampire taco meat that needs to be altered in some way. *whatever*

I think the negative terms surrounding our hair in that area moves people to want to change it. (If taco meat isn't a negative, why are you trying to change it?). If you're a 3-something or lower, it's "cute baby hairs" and you leave it. If you're 4-something its "taco meat, beadybees, buckshots, ni**ger knots" and you have to do something with it. I reject that. Someone in this thread called them "tiny coils" or something of that nature. I like that.

I leave mine alone. I take care of it like I do the rest of my hair. Because of this it has grown. It's about 3 inches when I stretch it out and I can include the whole vampire tooth in the rest of my hair when I style (if I want to). Gelling, brushing, combing, smoothing etc. may be causing yours to break off and stay short.

Waaaaaaay back in my first post I actually provided a solution. If you leave it alone and take care of it like you do the rest of your hair it will grow longer and you can include it with the rest of your style.

Lys

 

[danigurl18]

I let mine grow.. they take some time but they'll grow

 

[goldielocs]

This is completely OT, but we look just alike!!! In all seriousness- my husband and I are looking at your pic tripping out about how alike we look from the side. It's scarey...even down to the glasses...


Back on topic... We also have the same hair texture and I lovesss my "taco meat." I do nothing to try to control it and we live in peace. I think that's why locs are perfect for my hair. Take care.


QUOTE=MissAlyssa;9491722]You make valid points too. I don't get down with gelling or scarfing my edges either. And I have a widows peak, mini side burns that you can see peaking below my glasses and a peak of hair on each of my temples. I leave it all alone. As you can see here:

hmmm... never noticed how hairy I am[/QUOTE]